Embedded devices for playing media files, such as MP3 players, suffer from limited display and manual input capability. For example, where displays are provided, they are small of necessity due to limited space and are thus incapable of displaying a large amount of information. Also, function keys provided are of small number due to limited space, such that full textual input is difficult and often impossible. As a result, the tasks of finding, storing, and retrieving MP3 files are laborious and often frustrating processes for users to perform. For these and similar reasons, embedded devices have been developed that use speech recognition to access databases of various kinds.
The implementation of speech recognition with embedded devices has unfortunately failed to conceive of speech recognition as more than just another input in the human-machine interaction paradigm centered around buttons, jog dials, and touch screens. The previous implementations, thus, treat speech input as another command for navigating a menu in the same way as using a function or jog dial. The need remains, therefore, for an embedded device that accesses information in a manner that is centered around speech recognition and speech recognition technologies. The present invention provides such a device.